Thursday, March 11, 2010

Official Iditarod Volunteer Photographer Celebrates 30 Years on the Trail

Alaska Stock Images is proud to announce March, 2010 as the 30th Anniversary of Jeff Schultz as the Official Iditarod Volunteer Photographer.

image - Jeff Schultz / Alaska Stock

Mar 09. 2010, 04:03 (by CEPIC) USA - Photographing in conditions ranging from freezing winds to zero visibility snow storms, Jeff volunteers his time photographing the race teams on the Iditarod trail, from Anchorage to Nome, over 1,150 miles of the most extreme and beautiful terrain in the world.

"I have been blessed to be a part of the Iditarod family now for 30 years. It's certainly a privilege to travel the trail with the mushers and volunteers and chronicle this event in across Alaska in pictures. Each year it feels like a family reunion as I once again connect with people in the villages along the route and folks who return year after year to help make this great Alaskan event happen. I hope to be involved for many more years."

Jeff began photographing the Iditarod in 1981, when he was asked, by the founder of the race Joe Redington Sr., to volunteer to take pictures and help out the 7-year old race. Jeff traveled as far as his meager $300 travel budget would allow him that year-- to McGrath 1/3 of the way to Nome. He came back to Anchorage and took a commercial flight to Nome to see and photograph the finish of the race. When the race was over Jeff donated his photos to race organizers to use in publications for the race. He was invited back the next year, this time as an official photographer. The Iditarod Trail Committee offered to pay his air transportation and food expenses along the trail in exchange for use of his photos to promote the race. Jeff agreed and each year since then Jeff has photographed the race each year as the official volunteer photographer under those same simple terms.

As recently as 2009, in celebration of Alaska's 50th Anniversary of Statehood, the Iditarod was featured on the US Postal Service stamp honoring Alaska's Statehood. The photo, taken by Jeff Schultz, is of alpenglow colors reflecting off the mountains found in the Rainy Pass area with DeeDee Jonrowe mushing her way to Nome. Jeff now has six books out on the Iditarod---- Iditarod the Great Race to Nome (out of print), Iditarod Silver -- the 25th Anniversary Book (out of print), Iditarod Country, Dogs of the Iditarod , Iditarod -- The Great Race to Nome (updated and revised) and his most recent book "Iditarod Glory".

About Official Iditarod Photographer Jeff Schultz

Jeff Schultz is a professional photographer based Anchorage, Alaska where he lives with his wife Joan and children Ben and Hannah. At the same time Jeff volunteers his time, talent and photo costs to the Trail Committee, he has done assignment work during the Iditarod for various corporate and editorial clients including; Sports Illustrated, Eddie Bauer, Cabela's, Scholastic and more. Jeff's Iditarod stock photos have been used world-wide by clients such as: Scott Forseman Textbooks, Weekly Reader, Iams Pet foods, Ralston Purina, AT&T Alascom, G.C.I, Alaska Magazine, PBS Nature Series, Husquavarna Chainsaws, Pet Products Plus, Fred Meyer, Bayer Corp. , Honeywell and many, many more. Jeff also photographs corporate and editorial assignments and stock images. His assignment clients have included: TIME magazine, Parade, Boy’s Life, Land's End and others. His stock images have appeared worldwide for advertising, editorial, corporate and retail products. View Jeff's assignment and stock work at www.schultzphoto.com. Jeff owns the stock photo agency, Alaska Stock Images www.AlaskaStock.com representing over 160 Alaskan photographers marketing their work to a worldwide audience.

About Alaska Stock

Alaska Stock Images, founded in 1990 by Jeff Schultz, is a specialty photo agency with an offering of over 400,000 Rights-Managed and Royalty-Free images of Alaska tourism, summer and winter lifestyles, outdoor recreation, adventure, historic, wildlife, global warming and climate change, majestic landscapes, and photos from Antarctica and Canada. This collection continues to grow on a regular basis with over 50,000 images available online at www.AlaskaStock.com. The full collection is available for sale directly from Alaska Stocks sales team and around 15,000 Rights Managed images have been especially selected for their Alaskan specialty and international relevance and are sold worldwide via its international distribution network.

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